Structure and properties of polymers in the pure amorphous liquid state

Structure and properties of polymers in the pure amorphous liquid state 

While the Flory-Orwoll theory for the equation of state of bulk polymers can be employed, a simpler free-volume equation of state is often used in practice. The details of this theory and its application to the description of the viscosity of low-molecular-weight polymer liquids is presented 

As polymer liquids are cooled or compressed, the local viscosity increases. If the average local relaxation time of the system exceeds the time allowed for equilibration, the liquid follows a nonequilibrium path. This fact leads to the phenomenon of the glass transihon. The phenomenology of the glass transition is presented in Section 8.4. 

The liquid state near the glass transition can be described in terms of a distribution of relaxation times. The temperature and pressure dependence of these relaxation times is discussed in Section 8.5. 

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